Lewisham Council are currently consulting on plans for allowing strategic redevelopment of sites in Lewisham.
http://lewisham-consult.limehouse.co.uk/

Of particular interest might be SA17 and SA18 around Forest Hill station, SA25 (Bell Green), and SA48 (Willow Way).

What are your thoughts on developing these sites and any other sites in Forest Hill?

If this means that the area around FH station will be 'beautified', I'm all in favour. But the mini cab offices and carpark are useful. It would be much better for all if a new entrance is opened from the Car Park direct onto Platform 2. But I suspect the perennial answer to that proposal is 'pigs might fly'!

It's almost as useless as Sir Steve Bullock, the mayor's promise at a FH Society Open General meeting held at the Fellowship Hall in HO Road 2 years ago, that he guaranteed that the underpass would be updated/renewed within 12 months!!

So the adage that 'pigs might fly' seems to be true.

I agree. The area around the Perry Vale Platform 2 entrance definitely needs smartening up. This is getting slightly of the point but the general mess over the last few weeks has got really bad on that end of the road. Particularly with litter. I know it's to do with the fact that there are a number of takeaway’s down that end of the road but it's depressing, especially when there are a couple of bins (which are sometimes full but still). Is there anything one can do? I remember reading something a while back about takeaway’s being prosecuted if it was found that their packaging was littering the streets. Does anyone have any thoughts?

These are useful Michael.

As regards the former Bell Green Gas Works (Phases II & III), Perry Hill Sydenham, SE26, LB Lewisham remains remarkably silent on one or two very significant issues.

The Authority had secured s106 monies in the order of £950k as part of granting consent for the original development that included the erection of the original Savacentre (now re-branded Sainsbury's). Copies of the original agreement are still available online.

These monies had been earmarked to deal with the choke-point that exists where the roadway narrows at the overbridge at Southend Lane. It might be anticipated that these monies were intended to be used to replace the two lane overbridge with a wider bridge' thus widening the highway and provide easement and betterment to the traffic-flows around that area.

With regard to how realistic any estimates may or may not have been for the proposed bridge replacement/traffic easement measures, it would appear that LB Lewsiham has made no visible progress with the infrastructure owner (formerly Railtrack and now Network Rail) to deliver the required bridge works.

This leaves questions about these unaccounted-for monies.

Has the Authority secured the funds and is therefore holding them (unspent) for the purpose(s) intended?

Are plans being developed with the infrastructure owner to ensure the work is carried out ?

If the original purpose to which the monies were to be put is no longer deliverable, what alternative uses are being considered by the Authority for the easement of traffic problems around that entire location?

The necessity of significant improvement in traffic arrangements around the entire site is self evident.

Residents on all sides of the site have had endure several years of unacceptable and unnecessary traffic queuing, noise and pollution from the delayed traffic and the frustration of not being able to gain ready access to our own homes at weekends.

The chequered progress of the sites' developments may be attributable to several issues. However poor access to the site for destination shoppers is clearly one of them.

It is worthy of note that the developer of the proposed new Homebase has postponed (if not abandoned) plans for that site after having spent the larger amount of the total development costs on the site decontamination phase. It is almost certainly the case that current economic conditions played a role here. However, Homebase may have formed a view that their existing site on the A21 is more accessible than the the Bell Green site and then reaching a decision to advise the developer that the new site was no longer required.

These questions need to be addressed coherently in an over-arching fashion that embraces all the site issues in conjunction with future Strategic Planning matters.

Hi there

I posted a thread back in June about a market for Forest Hill that could work very well in the spaces marked out as SA17/SA18 - http://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3127. Is there any appetite for such a thing?

Based on the success of Forest Hill Day there are lots of business that could have regular stalls with a wide variety of goods, foods, arts and crafts.

It would be a big draw to the area; it’s close to the station and would help promote Forest Hill and support local businesses by increasing the footfall in the area.

SE23Fan

It might be something that you could feed back to the site allocations plan. Keeping some space in front of the station that would be available for market stalls seems like an excellent idea.